Arlington Skyhawks
The Arlington Skyhawks are a professional hockey team based out of Arlington, Massachusetts. They are members of League 16 in Tier 2 of the GHL. The team was in formed in December of 2007 as part of League 1343 just before the beginning of the Season 12. The team's home arena is the Sky Center, a new, mid sized, arena with a capacity of less than 16,000. Franchise History The Formation of the Skyhawks In December 2007 Ian James decided to form a professional Ice Hockey team, and chose Arlington as its home, being right outside the hockey oasis of Boston, Massachusetts. As General Manager, he then set out to find a roster for his newfound team, beginning with head coach Young Baulch. Despite never before tested in that position, James believed that Baulch was the right man to get the team started on the right skate. His leadership and experience, coupled with his skill at training players to their potential, were exactly the skills the new team needed. The coach hired, a full roster was now necessary and this began with seven year veteran goalie Booker Luckhardt. Luckhardt had previously played four full seasons with Tier 4 team The Wiley Ones with good results. After spending two years in free agency after the Wiley Ones folded, he was signed onto the Skyhawks. Young rookie Cleo Granillo was signed on for the backup position. For the remainder of the team, GM Ian James, and Coach Baulch focused on a balance between veterans who could give the Skyhawks an immediate competitive edge, and rookies who would build the team into a future dynasty. Rising star and team captain, Ksenofont Voronin was among those originally signed to the team. Other notable members of this starting roster included defensemen Evlampiy Arkhipov and Randall Benes, and rookie center Abdul Ianuzzi. The Rookie Seasons For the first two seasons of their existance, the Skyhawks played in Tier 5. Their roster was composed mainly of young, untested rookies, and older veterans, dropped from other teams. For their first season the Skyhawks performed very well, maintaining the number two place in the league for some time before falling behind the fifth and then climbing back up to third. They were quickly eliminated, however, in the quarterfinals of the playoffs. In Season 13, the Skyhawks moved forward with a newfound resolve to be the best. Last season's rivals, the Georgia Rebels and the Washington Admirals, all jostled with the Skyhawks for first place. Although the Rebels held the position for most of the season, around midway through they began to fall behind. However, the Admirals came on strong and by the end of the season the Skyhawks only managed to make second place. Throughout the season the Skyhawks were plagued by injuries to their best players and the playoffs were no exception. They went into the finals with four of their top players missing and were unable to win a game. However, they were promoted to the more professional and respected Tier 4. Season 14 could have been an important year for the Skyhawks, a chance for them to prove themselves at a higher level of competition. However, the team found themselves in a League with only one other team that posed any serious competition. They decided to use the time to train hard and work out the kinks in their strategy. The season proved to be a successful one as expected and the team came in first in the league and won the playoffs. Seasons 15 and 16 In Season 15 the Skyhawks entered Tier 3 and faced the most difficult competition they had seen yet. They struggled each game and barely managed to escape relegation. Season-by-season record This is a list of the Skyhawks season by season statistics. Records as of 17 February, 2009. 'Note:' GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, W% = Winning Percentage, L10 = Record for last ten games, Home = Record for home games, Away = Record for away games"" Current Roster Category:Teams Category:Tier 2 Teams Category:American GHL Teams